True stories from the front lines of parenting.

Thursday Three: Indulgences You Can Make YourselfJanuary 26, 20121 Comment

Mumbling Mommy

Everyone loves to spoil themself from time to time. There’s no harm in that. But if you feel like spoiling yourself a little more than your wallet will allow, there are some creative ways to make it happen. Here are three of my favorite splurges and the ways that I have found to make them on my own at home:

My personal favorite Starbucks breakfast is a low-fat Chai latte and a bowl of their Perfect Oatmeal. It costs $6.39 to buy. I have definitely gone through spurts where I stop there 3 or 4 times a week and buy breakfast! The past few weeks, I have tried re-creating the whole breakfast at home. A box of pre-sweetened Chai (I use Tazo brand and so does Starbucks!) concentrate and 1% milk make a pretty darn good replica of a Chai latte. It would be even cheaper to buy the tea bags and make it at home, but I am willing to spend a dollar or two more to make it more like the real thing, and thus make myself more likely to enjoy my own. The oatmeal is also super easy to replicate. A canister of quick oats, some brown sugar and a bag of raisin/dried cranberry mix is just right.

2. Bakery cupcakes
I LOVE a bakery cupcake. I’m not talking from the grocery store, either. I mean from a local bakery that uses premium ingredients. But at $2.75 each, that is a habit that gets expensive quickly. Instead. I like to make a treat of the week at home. A batch of brownies, blondies, cupcakes or cookies will last the whole week. I’ll bet that even with buying premium ingredients (Ghiradelli chocolate chips, etc), it’s still way cheaper than buying a treat 2 or 3 times a week at the bakery. Plus, you can control the calories/fat in a homemade version.

3. Gourmet salads
On my way to work today, I saw a Panera bread billboard for a new salmon salad they are offering. It looked so good! But, a healthy lunch from a restaurant often costs $10 or more. You can make creative salads at home for a fraction of the cost. I enjoy making a southwest salad, similar to one offered at Crispers. I use spring mix, tomato, cucumber, black beans (canned), corn (frozen) and chicken I grill myself on the indoor grill. Add some pickled jalapenos to some good ol’ bottled ranch dressing and you have a GREAT salad! You can make 3 or 4 of these for the price of one restaurant salad.

Sometimes the splurge is worth it. But for the times that money is a little tight, get creative with at-home versions of your favorite things.